Shoot Me: Independent Filmmaking from Creative Concept to Rousing Release
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
Shoot Me
Independent Filmmaking from Creative Concept to Rousing Release
By Roy Frumkes and Rocco Simonelli
When the script says "shoot me" and Hollywood says no, your only alternative is to raise the money and do it yourself. Here's how screenwriters Roy Frumkes and Rocco Simonelli used digital video to do just that.
Witty, original, and ruthlessly on the mark, this unvarnished look at independent filmmaking chronicles both the creative intricacies of collaboration and the tricks of staying in budget and out of court. The authors compare notes as they describe the entire filmmaking process, with coverage including:
* Targeting the audience for the script-and tailoring the script for the audience
* Raising money-your friends, your family, and the millionaire next door
* Casting-names, no-names, and personality nightmares
* Locations-finding them, securing them, and sometimes even stealing them
* Producing-creating a budget, scheduling the shoot, and dealing with unions
* Directing-working with actors and protecting your vision
* Editing-or dropping that scene you thought was a gem
* Celebrating, publicizing, and distributing the finished product
Adding to the authors' testimony are interviews with notable independent filmmakers Ted Bonnitt (Mau Mau, Sex Sex), Michael Ellenbogen (producer, Margarita Happy Hour), and Richard Dutcher (God's Army and Brigham City), who hone in on such issues as digital distribution, the indie film scene in New York and Hollywood, and the niche audiences who could make or break a film.
For any film student or indie buff seeking an insider's perspective of the art and business of independent filmmaking, it doesn't get any closer than this.
From the Publisher
A "Divine Comedy" of Indie Filmmaking
Acclaimed Screenwriter Team and Makers of THE SWEET LIFE Reveal the Human Trials of Indie Auteurs;
SHOOT ME Offers Cool-Headed Advice Amidst Digital Video Gold-Rush
It may look like yet another no-fail guide to the indie film revolution, but better look twice. SHOOT ME by Roy Frumkes and Rocco Simonelli is an irreverent, enticingly human look at the challenges of making one's own movie and a bold response to the DV-driven hype of fast-and-easy success.
Roy Frumkes and Rocco Simonelli are longtime screenwriting partners who have written, among others, the script for the hit action-adventure movie THE SUBSTITUTE. Like so many of their colleagues, the two were frustrated by seeing their scripts corrupted by the Hollywood rewrite process. When digital video came along, they seized the opportunity to shoot their own movie, the romantic comedy THE SWEET LIFE. In SHOOT ME: Independent Filmmaking from Creative Concept to Rousing Release, the newborn indie auteurs offer an unvarnished look at the business and creative challenges of making one's own movie-from a dante-esque viewpoint that is unheard of in their field.
In SHOOT ME, we meet a post-surgery drugged Simonelli who, on his sickbed, is beguiled and ensnared by his partner into agreeing to direct THE SWEET LIFE and who, despite his meticulous preparations and precautions, dreads his first day on the set with the anxiety of a schoolboy. We meet a self-deprecatingly witty Frumkes who preaches on the dangers of on-set romance only to reveal his own romantic entanglement during the shooting of THE SWEET LIFE. Through these honest and witty accounts, the two filmmakers convey a message that is rarely heard among ambitious young filmmakers: that filmmaking is not only about artistic self-realization, but also a personal juggling act that demands business acumen and inner growth.
Roy Frumkes and Rocco Simonelli have been writing, directing, producing, and teaching in their field for years. Their combined accomplishments include having written the original scripts for THE SUBSTITUTE, THE JOHNSONS, and THE SWEET LIFE, among others. Simonelli currently teaches film writing and production at The School of Visual Arts in New York.
THE SWEET LIFE is a biting romantic comedy of unrequited love and sibling rivalry, starring James Lorinz, Barbara Sicuranza, and rock music icon Joan Jett. Filmed in summer 2001 using digital video technology, the project features over thirty speaking parts and involved shooting at multiple interior and exterior locations all over New York and New Jersey, including a wedding scene with sixty extras. THE SWEET LIFE will be released in Summer 2003. CONTACT: Birte Pampel, 212.777.8395, ext. 13, bpampel@allworth.com
Shoot Me: Independent Filmmaking from Creative Concept to Rousing Release
Shoot Me: Independent Filmmaking from Creative Concept to Rousing Release,Rocco Simonelli,Roy Frumkes,Allworth Press,1581152477,Film & Video - Direction & Production,Film & Video - Independent,Independent filmmakers,Motion picture authorship,Motion pictures,Performing Arts,Performing Arts/Dance,Pop Arts / Pop Culture,Production and direction
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